Mattress edge operating machine



Feb. 8, 1966 F. E. KALNING MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING MACHINE 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed March 13, 1964 JZ/ E Feb. 8, 1966 F. E. KALNING MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 13, 1964 United States Patent 3,233,568 MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING MACE Frederick E. Kalning, Quincy, Mass, assignor to United Mattress ltdachinery Company, Quincy, Mass, a corporation of Maine Filed Mar. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 351,790 2 Claims. (Cl. 112-33) The present invention relates to improvements in a mattress edge operating machine, and more particularly to an improved construction and arrangement of the mattress supporting table adapted for the direct transmission of power to the traveling mattress edge operating mechanism.

The invention is herein disclosed as embodied in a mattress edge stitching machine having a mattress sup porting table vertically adjustable on a rectangular frame. The stitcher is conveniently supported for traveling movement about the edge of the mattress on a guideway attached to the frame below the level of the table. An electric motor mounted on and movable as an integral unit with the stitcher operates the stitching mechanism and is connected also to transfer the stitcher about the mattress supporting table. Power is supplied to the stitcher in most instances by a lead-in cable suspended overhead to reduce the amount of interference of the cable with the handling of the mattress by the operator. The provisions made for supplying power to the moving mattress edge operating unit have not, however, been entirely satisfactory.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved mattress edge operating machine of the general type referred to in which the table assembly of the machine is particularly constructed and arranged to provide a fully protected area within which a lead-in power cable for the traveling edge operating mechanism may be housed, and within which the lead-in cable is free to follow the movement of the same about the table.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a novel and improved mattress table supporting assembly in which the table top is carried on a separate vertically adjustable inner frame in which the mattress supporting table is adjustably supported above and separated from the machine-carrying main rectangular frame of the machine and in which power is supplied through a rotatable electrical outlet on the column and a power line from said outlet passing through the space provided to the traveling mattress edge operating unit.

With these and other objects in view as may hereinafter appear the several features of the invention consist in the devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby will be readily understood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mattress edge stitcher with a portion of the table top and inner frame broken away to show underlying parts;

FIG, 2 is a front view of the mattress edge operating machine shown in FIG. 1 with parts broken away and sectioned to show underlying parts;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the table inner frame; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged somewhat fragmentary sectional detail view taken on a line 4-4 of FIG. 1 illustrating particularly the central column, the rotatable power outlet on the column and a portion of the support mechanism for the table top and column of the machine.

The mattress edge operating machine shown in the drawings comprises a tape edge mattress stitcher 2d havtop supporting ing a sewing head 22 and a downwardly extending base 24 which is mounted by means of suitable supporting and guiding devices for movement about the edge of a rectangular mattress supporting table assembly. The sewing mechanism of the machine may be of ordinary construction and is therefore illustrated only in outline in FIGS. 1 and 2. The stitcher is supported and guided with relation to a guide rail 26 extending around the external periphery of the table by means of a pair of machine supporting rolls 28 which ride along the top of the rail, and a plurality of guide rolls generally designated at 30 which engage outer and inner surfaces of a lower rail, this mechanism being indicated only in a general way since it is well known in the art as shown, for example, in the patent to Kalning et al., No. 2,918,884. The downwardly extending base portion 24 of the stitoher carries a roll 30 which engages a rail 32 extending about the periphery of the table assembly slightly above the floor level. The edge stitcher 20 is provided in the base portion thereof with an electric motor 40 which is connected to operate the stitch mechanism and also to advance the machine about the periphery of the table. The drive mechanism employed comprises a gear box 42 containing gears driven by the electric motor 40 and an output shaft 44 on which is mounted a driving pinion 46 which meshes with a rack 48 secured to the lower edge of the guide rail 26.

The table assembly comprises a base in the form of a rectangular frame 60 having corner posts 62 which are rigidly secured at their upper ends to a rectangular frame member identified as the guide rail 26. Corners of the guide rail are rounded to facilitate the movement of the stitcher around the corner from one side of the table to the next. Each post is provided at its lower end with an adjustable foot consisting of a flat headed screw 66 threaded into a nut 68 rigidly secured to the post 62. Each post 62 has formed therein a shelf 70 from which is suspended a table top vertical adjusting screw '74. A sprocket 76 secured to the adjusting screw 74 is rotatably mounted in an aperture formed in the shelf 75). A simultaneous adjustment of the adjusting screws 74 is obtained by means of a sprocket chain 7 8 which passes around each of the sprockets 76 on the respective adjusting screws 74 and around a sprocket 80 connected to be driven by a small motor 82 mounted on a fixed bracket on the rectangular frame 60.

The mattress to be worked on is mounted on a table top 84 carried on an inner frame 86 which is supported for vertical adjustment within the rectangular frame 60 by the adjusting screws 74. As shown the inner frame 86 comprises a vertical column 90 having secured to the lower end thereof four horizontally disposed supporting arms 92 which extend to the four corners of the table, having secured thereto nuts 94 which are threaded to the adjusting screws 74. The vertical column 90 is provided at its upper end with four horizontally disposed support arms 96 which provide a solid support for the table top 84 extending outwardly to the respective corners thereof. The table top 84 and the supporting arms 92 of the inner frame are spaced upwardly from the top rail 26 of the rectangular frame 60 providing an open space between the table top and the rectangular frame which extends inwardly to the column d0 all the way around the table.

Power is supplied to the electric motor 40 for operating the stitcher from a cable 104 which may be connected, for example, with a floor plug beneath the table and is guided upwardly through the column 90 to a rotatable electrical outlet 195 in the column. The cable 194 contains three phase lines and a ground connection which are connected respectively to four separate ring conductors 108 on the column. A rotatable sleeve take off member 110 on the column carries a series of four brushes 112.which engage with the rings 108 and are connected respectively to three phase lines and to a ground wire contained in a lead-in cable 114 to the stitching machine motor 40. A supporting pipe 116 for the lead-in cable 114 carries the cable outwardly from the rotatable electrical outlet 106 toward the under edge of the table top 84 from which it passes through an aperture in the stitcher base 24 and thence to the motor at Any slack in the lead-in cable is taken up by a coiled tension spring 118 attached to the stitcher head 22.

The inner frame above described comprising a central column on which the table top is mounted above and separated from the rectangular frame constitutes a new and valuable addition to the table assembly of an edge operating machine. tically adjustable with relation to the rectangular frame and is at the same time securely located with relation thereto. The improved organization resulting from the inclusion of the inner frame further provides an enclosed area extending outwardly from the central column adjacent the underside of the table top through which a lead-in cable is directed to the mattress edge operating unit of the machine, and in which the lead-in cable is freely movable with said unit circumferentially about the column during the progress of the operation about the edge of the mattress. With the construction shown the cable connections contained within the table assembly are completely enclosed and protected against dirt, provide a maximum of safety for the operator from possible electrical shock, and are removed from the work area of the machine to avoid any possibility that they will be a source of inconvenience or trouble to the operator.

The invention having been described, what is claimed 1. In an automatic mattress edge operating machine having a mattress edge operating unit, the combination of a mattress supporting table Which comprises a rectangular frame, a guideway on which said mattress edge operating unit is transferable about said rectangular frame, a table top overlying said rectangular frame arranged for supporting a mattress with the edges thereof in position for engagement by said mattress edge operating unit, an inner frame mounted within said rectangular frame for supporting said table top comprising a vertically disposed column located centrally of said rectangular frame, means attaching the table top to the upper end of said column, means adjustably supporting said column By this means the table top is veron said rectangular frame with the table top disposed above and separated from said rectangular frame to provide an unobstructed area outwardly from the column. between the top edge of said rectangular frame and the underside of said table top entirely around the table, and electrical power connections for said mattress edge operat-- ing unit including an electrical outlet rotatable on said column, and a lead-in cable from said electrical outlet passing through said area to the mattress edge operating unit.

2. In an automatic mattress edge operating machine having a mattress edge operating unit transferable about the edge of a mattress, the combination of a mattress supporting table comprising a rectangular frame, a guideway about the peripheral edge of said frame on which said mattress edge operating unit is transferred about the table, a table top assembly mounted within and projecting upwardly from said frame comprising a mattress supporting table top, and an inner frame on which said table top is supported comprising a vertically extending column disposed within said rectangular frame, supporting arms attached to the upper end of said column and extending outwardly to each corner of the table for supporting the table thereon, said supporting arms and table top being spaced upwardly from said rectangular frame to provide an unobstructed area outwardly from the column between the table top and rectangular frame entirely around the table, supporting arms extending radially outwardly from a lower portion of said column terminating adjacent each corner of said frame, a vertically adjustable screw and nut connection between the terminal end of each said lower arm and said frame, and power operating connections for said mattress edge operating unit including an electrical outlet rotatable on said column between said upper and lower supporting arms following the movement of the machine about the table, and a lead-in cable from said electrical outlet passing through said unobstructed area to said mattress edge operating unit.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATEl TS 2,609,768 9/1952 Cash et al. 112-3 2,646,013 7/1953 Haas 112-20 2,918,884 12/1959 Kalning et al. 1123 2,925,057 2/1960 Cash 112-3 3,062,160 11/1962 Cash et al. 112-3 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner, 

1. IN AN AUTOMATIC MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING MACHINE HAVING A MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING UNIT, THE COMBINATION OF A MATTRESS SUPPORTING TABLE WHICH COMPRISES A RECTANGULAR FRAME, A GUIDEWAY ON WHICH SAID MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING UNIT IS TRANSFERABLE ABOUT SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME, A TABLE TOP OVERLYING SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME ARRANGED FOR SUPPORTING A MATTRESS WITH THE EDGES THEREOF IN POSITION FOR ENGAGEMENT BY SAID MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING UNIT, AN INNER FRAME MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME FOR SUPPORTING SAID TABLE TOP COMPRISING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED COLUMN LOCATED CENTRALLY OF SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME, MEANS ATTACHING THE TABLE TOP TO THE UPPER END OF SAID COLUMN, MEANS ADJUSTABLY SUPPORTING SAID COLUMN ON SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME WITH THE TABLE TOP DISPOSED ABOVE AND SEPARATED FROM SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME TO PROVIDE AN UNOBSTRUCTED AREA OUTWARDLY FROM THE COLUMN BETWEEN THE TOP EDGE OF SAID RECTANGULAR FRAME AND THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID TABLE TOP ENTIRELY AROUND THE TABLE, AND ELECTRICAL POWER CONNECTIONS FOR SAID MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING UNIT INCLUDING AN ELECTRICAL OUTLET ROTATABLE ON SAID COLUMN, AND A LEAD-IN CABLE FROM SAID ELECTRICAL OUTLET PASSING THROUGH SAID AREA TO THE MATTRESS EDGE OPERATING UNIT. 